BENGALURU: Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL), the erstwhile Zee News Limited, reported a 53.36 per cent growth in PAT for Q3-2014 at Rs 5.92 crore as compared to the Rs 3.86 crore for Q2-2014. Operating revenue for Q3-2014 at Rs 91.68 crore was 10.4 per cent more than the Rs 83.02 crore for the immediate trailing quarter.

However, year on year, the company’s Q3-2014 PAT was almost half (52 per cent) the PAT for the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal. ZMCL had reported Operating revenue of Rs 85.84 crore for Q3-2013.

Let us look at the other figures reported by ZMCL

ZMCL has three revenue streams – advertising; subscription; and other sales and services. Advertising revenue for Q3-2014 at Rs 61.39 crore was 16 per cent more than the Rs 52.9 crore for immediate trailing quarter and 3 per cent more than the Rs 59.56 crore for the corresponding quarter of last year.

Subscription revenue rose by 8.4 per cent for Q3-2014 to Rs 27 crore from Rs 24.9 crore for Q2-2014 and 21.6 per cent as compared to the Rs 22.2 crore for Q3-2013.

Revenue from other sales and services for Q3-2014 at Rs 3.29 crore fell by 36.7 per cent from Rs.5.2 crores for Q2-2014 and fell by 19.1 per cent as compared to the Rs 4.07 crore for Q3-2013.

Operating expenditure (Expenditure without depreciation and amortisation) for Q3-2014 at Rs 77.38 crore was 2.4 per cent more than the Rs 75.54 crore for Q2-2014 and 17 per cent more than the Rs 66.17 crore for Q3-2013.

ZMCL spent 5.6 per cent more during Q3-2014 at Rs 15.75 crore towards marketing, distribution and promotional expense as compared to the Rs 14.91 crore for Q2-2014 and 2.9 per cent more than the Rs 15.31 crore for Q3-2013.

Employee benefit expense for Q3-2014 at Rs 26.06 crore was 5.7 per cent more than the Rs 24.66 crore for Q2-2014 and 14.5 per cent higher than the Rs 22.76 crore for Q3-2013.

ZMCL non-executive chairman of the Board Subhash Chandra, said “Even as the global and domestic macro-economic environment poses challenges to growth, the private sector in the country has shown immense resilience to tide over the short term problems of a sluggish economy. With signs of inflation stabilising over the next few months, the growth momentum, especially in the private sector, is likely to pick up. On its part, ZMCL has always stayed ahead in anticipating issues affecting the company performance in the long term. We have moved towards a more integrated approach to the news consumer by taking forward the process of bringing the news television, print and internet together. Our continued expansion in strategic growth markets is another indication of how we are looking to leverage the growing economy.”

ZMCL group CEO, News Cluster Bhaskar Das said, “In order to fulfill our commitment of providing quality content for our regional viewer, we have recently introduced locally produced programming in Zee Marudhara. Additionally, we would be launching Zee Kalinga servicing Odisha market and have rebranded Maurya TV, which we acquired, as Zee Purvaiya. Our new channels launched in the current financial year have had significant growth in viewership with Zee Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh becoming number two channel in a few months of its launch and Zee Marudhara increasing its GVTs by over four times in the quarter as opposed to the previous one. New Media growth numbers too have been encouraging with zeenews.com registering an increase of 28.2 per cent in visits.”

ZMCL whole-time director, Alok Agarwal said, “It has been an action packed quarter for us here at ZMCL. We have restaged Zee News channel with refreshed programming and look and feel. The channel now is more contemporary and youth-oriented. The channel, post restaging, has increased its weekly TVTs by about 18 per cent in the last four weeks of the quarter. Our other national channel Zee Business also has performed exceedingly well by developing non-stock market hours viewership and has almost two and a half times viewership of all the English Business news channels put together. Our Network-wide initiative Bharat Bhagya Vidhaata also has had a great response especially from New Age consumers with #BBV reaching 19.9 million.”